


The Green Loser

by storywriter8



Category: The Losers (2010)
Genre: Chatting & Messaging, Cougar is Shy, Cougar is the Green Arrow, Does Not Follow The Arrow Plot, Dom/sub Undertones, Emotional Baggage, Falling In Love, First Dates, First Time, Fluff and Humor, Frottage, Green Arrow AU, Gunshot Wounds, Hair-pulling, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Jake is Felicity Smoak, Jake is a Mind Reader, Lies, Light Angst, M/M, Mentions of Batman - Freeform, Mentions of Deadshot, Mentions of PTSD, Nightmares, One Shot, Pooch is Diggle, Scars, Secret Identity, Sort Of, Veteran Jake, Veteran Pooch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-04 21:14:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18820858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storywriter8/pseuds/storywriter8
Summary: When Jake Jensen started hacking targets for the Green Arrow he never expected to end up with Carlos Queen standing in his office doorway with a bullet riddled laptop and an offer for a dinner date.





	The Green Loser

**Author's Note:**

> A random one shot I wrote to try and get out of my writer’s block. Based on the Arrow tv show which I do not know enough about to care about the accuracy of any plot points.
> 
> I don’t own the Losers or Arrow.

Jake Jensen liked to say his life was perfectly normal. Or as normal as normal gets in Starling City with a green suited vigilantly running around shooting bad guys with a bow and arrow. The computer genius kept his head down and eked out a decent living in the Queen Consolidated IT department. 

This was, however, very far from the truth. 

Sick and tired of watching his home turn into a shithole, Jake had decided to put his computer skills to good use. Tracking the Green Arrow’s digital signature hadn’t been easy, mind you, but then again, neither was hacking into every millionaire and corporation to find even a single scrap of possible wrongdoing.

Jake’s first email of evidence that a local drug company was using blackmail to artificially raise the prices of EpiPens throughout the city was met only with an increase in security from the Green Arrow. He had nearly given up hope when exactly one week later, the scam came to light across the breaking news report on the small TV mounted in the IT office, courtesy of Starling City’s vigilante putting an arrow an inch from the CEO’s neck.

An encrypted chat window appeared on his laptop moments later, displaying a single message.

GA: Next

Jake let out a whoop, punching the air, knocking several of desk tchotchkes to the floor but not gaining a single glance from the rest of his department, all too used to his strange behavior. Dragging and dropping his latest hacking find into the window, Jake’s fingers shook with excitement as he messaged the Green Arrow.

Hacker: Johana Argent, declared bankruptcy and left his employees with nothing while funneling all his profits into an offshore bank account.

Several long moments passed with no response during which Jake’s brain went through a multitude of horrifying situations.

GA: Hacker? Really?

Gut twisting nerves gone in an instant, Jake couldn't help but snort.

Hacker: hey, I've seen all the PSAs! I know not to give ANY personal information to people I meet on the internet! You could be some creeper who stalks around at all hours of the night for all I know. Oh wait….

GA: Fair enough. But at least give yourself a cooler name than Hacker.

Resting his chin on his intertwined fingers, Jake hummed in thought and let his eyes wander around his cubicle for inspiration. He smiled as they landed on the photograph of his old army team.

Loser: better?

GA: not really.

GA: Target confirmed, mission will commence.

-GA left the chat-

-

The Green Arrow leaned back in his chair and closed his laptop, restless fingers tapping on his crossed arms.

“Why the long face, Cougar? Didn’t they answer you?” Pooch asked, tugged at his partner in crime’s hood. 

Carlos ‘Cougar’ Queen nodded solemnly. “Gave us another good target.”

Pooch waited a moment, hands on his hips, but received no further explanation. “Aaand?” he prompted, reaching over to pick up the battered stetson that the vigilante still insisted on wearing out of the costume, and placed it on his friend’s head.

“The name they picked,” Cougar finally muttered, tugging the brim of his hat lower. “Loser, I don't like it. They are making a difference in the best way they can, not a loser.”

Pooch chuckled and shook his head. “You care way too much about some random computer geek to… wait, Loser? They called themselves Loser?”

Cougar nodded and opened the computer again, turning it so his partner could read the messages.

“Ah crap.” Pooch muttered, running a hand across his face. “I think I know who this is.”

-

After one very long day switching from the silent chat window to a local news feed, Jake was more than a little out of it as he flopped down at his desk the next morning. He had overslept after not going to bed and didn't even have enough time to get coffee. Which brought up the question of where did the paper cup emitting the most wonderful smell in the universe come from.

“Half espresso, half cream and sugar right? Or did you actually manage to get a sense of taste after we mustered out?”

Jake jumped and just managed to not knock anything over as he turned towards the speaker.

“Pooch!” He shrieked at the sight of his old teammate, flinging himself out of his chair for a hug. “Where the hell did you come from?”

“I work here, man,” Pooch said, giving Jake a playful shove and a huge grin. “Got a nice cushy job being the Queens’ bodyguard and settled down with Jolene. Who, by the way, is pissed at you for dropping off the face of the earth after that last job we did.”

Jake’s smile wavered as he pulled away and shoved his hands in his pockets. His eyes flickered towards the photograph on his desk, the one of their team. The Losers, they had called themselves; friends that had made it through hell together standing side by side with the one that hadn't. “I needed time, after, you know.” Jake said, trying to shrug off the guilt that he still carried with him.

Pooch frowned and reached out to gently squeeze his friend’s arm. “You had no way of knowing-”

Jake pulled away shaking his head and giving Pooch the most seriously look he had ever seen on the goofy blond’s face. “He died in my arms, ok, my arms. Deadshot is still out there and I owe it to him to find that son of a bitch.”

Jake flopped back down in his chair. “It was good to see you.” He muttered before taking a sip of the coffee and letting out a sinful moan at its delicious contents. 

Pooch chuckled, ruffling Jake’s hair and carefully plucking the USB drive out of the blond’s laptop in one smooth motion. “You're coming to Sunday dinner or Jolene will come in here, four months pregnant, and kick your skinny white ass.”

“Pregnant!?” Jake choked, spitting coffee everywhere as Pooch waved goodbye over his shoulder.

Walking around a corner Pooch paused and slipped a comm into his ear. “So, was I right?” Pooch murmured as he started walking again.

Miles away in a underground lair painted dark green, Cougar stared at the photographs of Jake Jensen spread across the table next to his laptop softly blinking ‘Confirmed’. “He's the Loser.”

-

It had been a couple months since Jake had made first contact with the Green Arrow and been reunited with Pooch. The latter had done nothing but bring him joy and delight as his old friend and his very pregnant wife dragged him, sometimes literally,out of the dark brooding of his hacking den and into the light of picnics and movie nights spent doubled over in laughter. 

The former was sure to drive Jake completely insane.

While Jake wasn't going to tell the Green Arrow his business, he also couldn't help but feel like he could be doing more to help the vigilante. Target after target was hacked and passed along and a few days later taken to the ground courtesy of a green arrow. But with each target taken down, it hurt just that much more that Jake wasn’t out in the field, watching the back of his would be partner in crime. 

It didn't help that the Green Arrow a delight to talk to. His quiet, dry humor contrasted perfectly with Jake’s rambling thought patterns and would find both of them massaging back and forth at all hours of the day and night. 

Jake soon found himself telling the vigilante everything, from funny little anecdotes from his past to exactly why he was online at three in the morning instead of sleeping and risking having another blood soaked nightmare from his time in the army.

In return, the Green Arrow, while careful to not share too much, told Jake about his hopes for the future. About seeing their city returned to its former glory. About hanging up the bow and finding a nice quiet place to retire. About his dreams of becoming a grade school teacher and being with the children he was trying to give a better life.

The pair had become close friends after months of messaging. But every time the news played their latest story about the hooded vigilante, Jake felt his stomach drop as he waiting for his new friend’s death to play across the screen.

“Couldn't just use the internet for porn like a normal person, could you, Jensen?” Jake muttered to himself, slouched low over his desk with no desire to get any more of his work done for the day. “No, you had to make friends with a brooding, self reliant crime fighter who's going to get himself killed one of these days.”

A soft cough from behind him prompted the blond to let his head loll back to see who was standing in his doorway. And good fucking lord that's Carlos Queen, with his head cocked slighting to one side and long dark hair draped across half of his smiling face. One hand was held behind his back while the other held the millionaire's obligatory Stetson to his chest.

“Mr. Queen!” Jake practically shrieked, sitting bolt upright with eyes wide and cheeks flushed at being caught goofing off by the company's owner.

The unbelievably handsome man did not look angry however. In fact, his smile seemed to grow wider and the faintest of chuckles shook his broad shoulders. “I was told you were the best with computers down here and I need a favor,” he murmured in a slightly accented voice that slid across the air like warm honey.

“Oh. Kay.” Jake managed to force passed his lips, still too shocked to say much more.

Taking a step forward, Carlos replaced his hat and brought a battered laptop out from behind his back. “I forgot to backup my data and accidentally got this wet, anything you could recover I would greatly appreciate.”

Jake’s eyebrows steadily climbed and he carefully took the laptop and turned it over in his hands. “I feel like I should ask about the bullet holes,” he said slowly, giving the man a pointed look over his glasses and turning the room blurry at the same time.

To his credit, Carlos Queen’s smile never wavered and he sidestepped to drop into a unbelievably sexy and flirtatiously lean against Jake’s desk. “How about,” he purred, using one finger to push the laptop down, “you don't ask, and I buy you dinner?”

Letting out a soft gasp, Jake pressed a hand over his heart. “Oh no, free food. My only weakness!”

This time a honest to goodness laugh burst out of the millionaire's chest, leaving the blond positively breathless. “You've got yourself a deal Mr. Queen,” he said, turning away to clear an area of his work station and to hide the flush that had returned to his cheeks for an entirely different reason.

Catching the blond’s chin, Carlos Queen turned him back to face him as he leaned in just a little closer. “Call me Cougar. I’ll pick you up at six.”

-

“Oh if only all those corrupt CEOs and mafia hit men could see you now” Pooch droned, letting his head fall over the back of the chair.

Cougar flung yet another shirt over his shoulder to the growing chaos of his bedroom. Nothing was right, nothing was good enough, this was his first date with Jake, for crying out loud! He had to look perfect. Perfect was what Jake deserved.

Little by little the hacker, who unapologetically called himself Loser in honor of his old teammates, had worked his way past the archer’s walls. Cougar hadn't even noticed until Pooch had caught him giggling like a smitten kitten at five in the morning after having stayed up all night chatting with Jake. By then it was too late, Cougar was in love with the man who only knew the worst about him and still had his arms open wide. Losing a target but gaining a bullet riddled laptop full of clues had gifted the archer with his chance. However, whatever miracle that had given Cougar the courage to walk up to the blond, see his smile in person, hear his voice, and not completely fall apart, was long gone. Now he was an anxiety riddled mess who couldn't even pick a shirt to wear. Sure the millionaire had the reputation of being a bisexual playboy god that practically oozed confidence, but that had been before.

Before the island.

Letting a suit jacket slip through his fingers, the archer’s eyes flickered toward the full length mirror on the closet door. The scars that threatened to take over his body were only broken by a spattering of tattoos that had cost more blood than the scars ever would. 

“If the word broken just went through that thick head of yours I swear to god...” Pooch snapped, shoving himself to his feet and putting his hands on his hips.

Eyes bright, Cougar glared silently back.

Pooch let out a long sigh and rubbed a hand across his forehead. “Alright fine, do you want my advice?”

The archer forced a smile to his lips, trying to push his tumbling emotions down. “Well, I certainly don't pay you for your body guarding abilities.”

Pausing to shoot his friend a reproving smile, Pooch elbowed his way into the closet. “You gotta be yourself, not the Green Arrow, not Carlos Queen, your real self. Jensen may act like a goof but he can see straight through any facade you try and throw up. It's actually kind of terrifying.”

Stepping out, Pooch held up a pair of light wash jeans, a dark green flannel and a soft gray scarf. “If you want my old teammate to trust you, you got to be Cougar.”

-

“Be Cougar, be Cougar.” Cougar muttered under his breath as he leaned against a pillar outside the Queen Consolidated office waiting for Jake to emerge. 

“Were you planning on being someone else?” Jake asked, swinging around the pillar and grinning.

For a moment the archer lost his breath and blushed at being caught. 

Be Cougar.

Ducking his head and scuffing at the ground with his shoe, Cougar shrugged. “Not unless you have a request.”

Scrunching up his face, Jake thought long and hard for a moment before nodding decisively. “Batman.” 

The look of open mouthed horrified betrayal that came across Cougar sent Jake into peals of laughter.

“Batman!?” The archer squeaked, placing a hand to his heart.

“Always be Batman!” The blond managed to explain through his cackles

Cougar narrowed his eyes as he recognized the tone as one Pooch always adopted when he said some confusing internet catchphrase. “Wait, is that one of those mehmehs?”

Jake was now bent double and wheezing. “Did? Did you just? Pronounce meme, meh meh?”

Rolling his eyes and smiling, Cougar waiting for his date to stop laughing and catch his breath. When Jake was finally able to take several steady breaths, the archer held out one hand towards where Pooch was waiting with the car.

Jake’s bright eyes took a moment to travel the length of Cougar’s body before he shifted his messenger bag on his shoulder and began walking. “That’s a good color on you,” he said, the off handed comment nearly causing the archer to stumble at the irony of being told dark green was his color.

Jake squealed the second they reached the car as he spotted his old teammate who was rolling his eyes at the pair. “Pooch in the driver’s seat! Oh man, that takes me back.”

Pooch snorted as they both climbed into the back. “I have had the misfortune of witnessing both of you behind the wheel and if I had it my way, neither of you would ever be allowed to drive for the good of all humanity.”

Eyebrows raised, Jake gave Cougar an impressed look to which the millionaire shrugged awkwardly.

“I have a problem following speed limits,” he admitted.

Grin returning in a flash, Jake nodded understandingly. “I get distracted really easily and think things that aren't roads are roads.”

The conversation flowed just as easily between the archer and his hacker in person as it did over a chat window and in no time they were pulling up to a small diner.

Jake seemed surprised as he stepped out of the car and Cougar’s anxiety came rushing back. “We could go somewhere else?” He mumbled weakly.

“Why on earth would we do that?” Jake asked, grabbing Cougar’s hand and pulling him forward. “When you managed to pick my favorite place to eat in the entire city.”

Letting the breath he had been holding go, Cougar smiled as they were shown to a small table in one corner where he could see all the exits. “I picked it because they have the two things I missed most.” Realizing what he had said, the archer quickly trailed off, smile fading slightly as he glanced down at the menu.

“Hey,” Jake murmured, taking Cougar’s hand and forcing him to look up. “If you don’t want to talk, it’s ok, I won’t ask.”

Letting out a shaky, breathless laugh, Cougar tightened his fingers slightly in the hacker’s grip. “Pooch warned me you were a mind reader.”

“It’s my super power.” Jake whispered, stretching his eyes wide before sobering again. "Some things don't need to be said, some things just need time. All I ask is that you never lie to me."

Letting himself relax under the blond’s gentle smile and warm fingers, Cougar let himself be Cougar. “I can't count how many nights I fell asleep on that island and dreamed of dipping french fries in a chocolate milkshake one last time.”

“Sounds like a wonderful thing to dream about,” Jake murmured, rubbing small circles on the back of the archer’s hand with his thumb. “When I was overseas, it was ice. I wanted to chew ice, like, 24/7.”

Hand in hand, they talked until the food arrived and forced them apart. The second they finished, however, Jake’s hand somehow found its way right back to Cougar’s. 

“Oh!” Jake said as their third order of milkshakes and fries was delivered. “Before I forget again, let me give this to you.”

Setting his messenger bag on the table, the hacker began to dig through several of the overstuffed pockets, scattering pens, chap-stick, and other odds and ends out onto the table. A small glass vial clattered out and began rolling towards the edge of the table.

Pure panic flooded across Jake’s face as he lunged for the vial about to fall.

Cougar’s hand flashed out, snatching the vial as it tumbled towards the floor, and carefully handed it back to the hacker.

“See?” Jake said, voice shaking. “We all have our issues.”

“I won’t ask,” Cougar murmured, earning a slight smile from his date.

“It's the antidote to Curare,” Jake said after a moment of turning the vial over in his hand. “The poison the assassin called Deadshot used to kill one of my teammates. I was responsible for getting him to medical, and I failed him. Deadshot is still out there, so I carry this just in case. Now you know the sad story of Jake Jensen.”

Shaking his head, the blond tried to smile again and pulled a thumb drive out of his bag. “Anyway, here is everything I could get off your Swiss cheese laptop.”

Cougar took the drive and stared at it for a moment before setting down and reaching out to tug Jake into his arms. “You’re a good person, Jake,” he whispered against the hacker’s temple.

-

Jake stared at the ceiling above his bed, replaying the evening in his head for the fourth time. Every shy smile and quiet laugh that had made his heart flutter. Every dark eyed gaze, and slide of tongue over chapped lip had made him lose his breath. 

At the end of the night, being dropped off at his apartment, they had lingered with just their fingertips touching, each at a loss for words. 

Not even Pooch honking the horn and yelling 'kiss already' had ruined the moment as Cougar gently pulled the blond down to press a kiss to his forehead. 

Jake was sure there had been stars in his eyes as they parted for a moment before he had plunged his hands into Cougar’s long dark locks and dragged him down. Lips parted seconds after they met as each man gave and took in turn. Jake let himself get lost in the brunette, moaning softly as they grew closer and closer.

Too soon they had parted, foreheads and bodies pressed together and breathing the same air. A giggle had bubbled up in Jake's chest at the sight of the millionaire, hair in disarray after his hat had been knocked to the ground.

"Sorry," he had murmured, retrieving the Stetson and gently dusting it off.

Cougar had hummed, taking the hat and placing it on the blond’s head. "That's a good look on you."

"Cowboy?" Jake had asked with a snort.

Blushing, the brunette had shrugged and glanced away. "Mine."

Oh this blushing beauty was going to be the death of Jake. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to tease him for it.

"Well then, just imagine what I would look like in that shirt. And nothing else." He had purred, tugging at the buttons of the now bright red millionaire's green flannel. 

Not wanting to be too cruel, Jake had put Cougar out of his misery and covered his face with the hat.

Re-positioning his hat back to his head, Cougar had pulled the blond close to whisper in his ear. "Don't tempt me, I'm not that kind of person anymore."

Despite his words, the brunette had to make several unsuccessful attempts to leave, returning each time for a soft chaste kiss. 

"Go." Jake had finally murmured, giving a slight push with his words. "Jolene will kill us if we keep Pooch out all night."

With a sad sigh, Cougar had slowly walked backwards away before turning as he reached the steps and breaking out into an old Spanish ballad. Skipping to a stop next to the door, he had turned back, sliding two fingers along the bottom of his hat brim in a salute.

Giggling again, Jake had waved like an idiot and somehow managed to back through the door without falling on his ass.

A soft beep brought Jake out of his reverie as a new message from the Green Arrow blinked across his laptop’s screen. The hacker stared for a moment, then looked back up at the ceiling before finally getting up.

GA: Fredrick Rollin was just arrested.

Loser: Nice work, do you need a new target or are you solo arrowing?

GA: Arrow is not a verb.

Loser: Anythings a verb if you don't care enough.

GA: Fair point. Why are you awake? Not another all night hacking binge I hope. You need to take better care of yourself.

Loser: No need to nag, I had a date tonight, left the house and everything. I just haven't fallen asleep yet.

GA: That good? Or that bad?

Loser: A gentleman never kisses and tells!

GA: Oooooo so there was kissing?

Loser: SHIT!

Loser: Hold on! You dodged the question! New target or soloing?

It took a long time for the vigilante to respond and Jake's limited patience had him chewing at his fingernails before the message finally appeared.

GA: I have a new target in mind.

Loser: New? Do you want help?

GA: Not this time.

-

The next few weeks were pure heaven for Jake. 

Cougar turned out to be far more than the playboy the tabloids insisted on continuing to label him even after his impromptu return from the dead. He was shy in that adorable way that made Jake want to wrap him in a warm blanket and never let go. He was kind and generous, too, though he always went out of his way to make sure as few people as possible ever found out about it, claiming that he would rather his money be put to good use without the media tearing its recipient apart looking for a good story. And a gentleman to boot who had insisted that they take their relationship slow.

That last one was starting to annoy Jake, however. He could definitely do slow, as both of them had some pretty dark baggage to work through,but good god, Jake didn't know how many more of those shy smiles with the tongue licking over chapped lips before biting down on them slightly he could take before he jumped the brunette.

“You're staring,” Cougar murmured, taking a sip from his teacup.

“You're damn right I am,” Jake countered, tipping his own cup towards his boyfriend.

Today’s date was in a tea-house a few blocks over from the Queen Consolidated’s office while Jake was on his lunch break. 

"Every chance I get, I'm going to enjoy the view," the blond continued. "Although I do feel bad all you have to look at is me."

"Jaaake," Cougar said disapprovingly.

Jake waved him off, took another drink of tea and waited for the lecture to start.

Pooch, however, saved the blond by walking up and murmuring in Cougar's ear. A complicated series of emotions passed across his face before he nodded and gave Jake an apologetic smile. "I have to go out of town for a few days, a business partner wants to meet in person, it's a whole thing. Tacos and terrible movies when I get back?" 

Jake stared at his boyfriend. His boyfriend whose smile didn't reach his eyes, whose fingers were clenched a bit too tight. His boyfriend who had just lied to him.

"You wanna try that one again?" He asked, unable to keep the sharpness of disappointment out of his voice.

The flinch that crinkled the look of confusion that Cougar quickly adopted was all the confirmation Jake needed. "If you can't tell me then you can’t tell me. But do not lie to me," he snapped, shoving himself away from the table and storming out with the would-be love of his life calling after him.

Jake spent about half an hour trying not to burst into tears at his desk after leaving Cougar before giving up and faking sick while escaping out the back with tears in his eyes. 

Blanket Cavern was the perfect place to have a good cry and it was dark by the time Jake finally crawled out to see to his body's needs. Grilled cheese and a large glass of water in hand, he wandered back to his desk to see a new message from the Green Arrow on his laptop.

Truly an epic amount of guilt came crashing down onto Jake at the small blinking green envelope. How could he have chewed Cougar out for lying about one little thing when half of his entire life was a lie!

-

"Hey Cougs, I uh, I just wanted to apologies for how I acted. I was way out of line, since... since I've been lying to you, about a lot of stuff. Look just, just call me when you get this, I want to tell you everything."

Standing in the dark on top of a building, bow in one gloved hand, cell phone in the other, Cougar cursed himself to the end of days for the pain and sadness he had caused Jake. 

"You should have just told him," Pooch muttered across comms from where he sat back at the lair watching surveillance cameras.

"I didn't want to give him false hope, " Cougar murmured, ending the voicemail and shoving his phone away.

"Well, you'll excuse me if I have hope as your suspect has just arrived," Pooch called with the clacking of computer keys echoing across the comms.

Cougar nodded slowly, tugging a scarf up over his mouth and nose and nocking an arrow. Firing a grappling shot, the Green Arrow leapt off of the roof and down to meet his next target.

-

"It's three in the morning! Of course he's not going to call you back!" Jessica practically howled over the phone.

From his spot laying upside down on his couch, Jake let out a pathetic whimper. "But!-"

"No more buts!" His sister yelled back and started in on one of her usual lectures she had prepared for when her idiot brother called her in the middle of the night with another idiot problem.

Having heard this particular lecture before, Jake only half listened and let his eyes wander the room. A movement by the fire escape caught his eye and he nearly jumped out of his skin as a gloved hand pressed against the window glass.

"Oh my god," Jake said as he recognized the Green Arrow from his hood and bow.

"Oh my god!" Jake yelled as he saw that it was Cougar beneath the hood as the brunette fell forward, his panting breaths fogged up the glass.

"OH MY GOD!' Jake shrieked as Cougar’s eyes roll back in his head and he fell away leaving a bloody hand-print against the window.

"Got to go, Jess!" he yelled, flinging his phone away and stumbling to his feet. 

Flinging the window open, Jake resisted the urge to scream again at the sight of Cougar practically passed out on his fire escape. So he whispered instead. A long string of quiet “oh my gods” followed as Jake managed to pull the bleeding vigilante through the window and over to the couch.

"Ok, ok, we’re ok. GSW? I can deal with that," Jake mumbled and tugging the dark green leather away from a deep gash on Cougar’s side. "Oh, thank fuck, I thought you were dying," Jack said, breathing a sigh of relief and using the corner of a blanket to stanch the bleeding.

Giving his head a weak shake, Cougar caught the blond’s wrist. "Dead… shot…" he managed to gasp out before slipping away into unconsciousness.

"Oh my god," Jake breathed as the horror set in, tearing his heart apart. He ran faster then he ever had before to snag the glass vial with its precious clear contents from his desk and the medical kit from the bathroom. He nearly stabbed himself twice and swore to high heaven at the seconds lost getting a syringe out and filled. He dared not take a breath as the antidote slid down the length of the needle and into Cougar’s arm.

-

Cougar’s vision swam into focus as the man with the two-tone mask took a heavy step toward him, machete in hand. He could hear the screams of his fellow unlucky souls as they were tortured for information they didn't have. He knew the island would be his tomb as the masked man raised his blade, stabbing down at his side.

Cougar's eyes snapped open with a gasp as he jerked awake. He was lying on a couch, surrounded by pillows and stripped down to the black Under Armour he wore under the Green Arrow costume. 

Jake was kneeling next to him, cringing guiltily as he tried again to ease the bloody gauze off of the gash in the Archer's side. "Sorry."

Smiling weakly, Cougar shook his head as much as the pillows would allow. "I think that's my line."

The blond remained silent as he redressed the gash, letting his hands fall away after smoothing down the tape.

"Jake," Cougar whispered, reaching out to stroke his love's cheek.

"What the hell were you thinking going after Deadshot alone?" Jake asked, blinking against the tears gathering in his eyes. "Do you know what that would have done to me? Losing you to him?"

"I… had Pooch?" The Archer offered weakly.

"Pooch!?" The hacker howled. "I'm going to kill him!"

He began to dig through several blood stained towels and green leather garments searching for his phone to inform his old friend of his doom.

"You're going to kill Pooch but not me?" Cougar asked, trying to sit up and wincing.

Finally finding his phone, Jake turned it over in his hands and glared to see its red battery meter. 

"He's not as cute as you," he muttered, typing out a quick message of 'Cougs is alive, you won't be for long' and pressing send before it could die on him. 

Glancing back at his dejected boyfriend, Jake's frown deepened. "Although you do need to find a way to make the 20 heart attacks I've had in the last three hours up to me. Seriously Cougs, what were you thinking? I thought we were partners, on the field of crime and love. Why didn't you just tell me."

Not bothering to stop his tears, Cougar reached out again and waited until the blond had returned to his side before speaking. "I thought once you saw the real me, you wouldn't want me anymore. I thought that if I could just, catch the man that hurt you, maybe you could forgive me for everything I have put you through."

Swallowing all the emotions that he really wasn't qualified to deal with, Jake gave his boyfriend a suspicious squint. "Is that why we haven't had sex yet?"

The desired effect was achieved as Cougar snorted and smiled, shaking his head at the incorrigible blond.

Jake waited until the chuckles had stopped to speak again, smiling now as he held his love’s hands. "Show me, and we'll call it even."

Slowly, the archer nodded and pulled his hacker down to press their lips together. The kiss quickly turned heated and after a moment longer Cougar gave a meaningful tug.

Jake took the hint and carefully moved to straddle the brunette's hips, hooking his fingers under the edge of his Under Armour. 

Swallowing, Cougar nodded and lifted his arms up, allowing himself to be stripped.

Licking his lips, Jake ran his fingers across the toned, scarred chest beneath him. Gashes, burns, and the marks of torture covered the tanned flesh. Touching each one, Jake acknowledged how it was made and let his love for Cougar grow for surviving and fighting back against each one. Each made the archer the man he was, and since Jake loved that man, he in turn loved each one. Glancing up he saw how nervous the archer was and couldn't help but shake his head. Grabbing the hem of his own shirt, Jake pulled it off and tossed it to one side before catching Cougar’s hands and pressing them to his own bare chest.

Taking a short sharp breath, the archer let his fingers explore his lover’s own scars. There were three star shaped bullet scars on his left shoulder. Suture marks lined two of his ribs where a scalpel had been used. A spiderweb of burn marks went over his right shoulder and spilled down his back. 

“We all have our scars, Cougs. Some are here,” Jake murmured, tapping the side of his head. “And some are here,” he continued, placing his hands over Cougar’s. “But I’m not going to let them stop me, and neither should you.”

Blinking back fresh tears, Cougar nodded and smiled as Jake kissed him. Their heat returned in an instant, both beginning to shift against each other seeking friction.

“This is a terrible idea,” Jake murmured, moaning as Cougar shifted his thigh to grind up into Jake’s quickly hardening dick.

The archer let out a low chuckle and shifted to try and get closer only to let out a hiss of pain.

“Told you so.” The blond murmured against the column of his lover’s throat.

Letting out a soft panting puff of breath, Cougar’s moans were tinged with frustration. “Need you. Please.” 

It was Jake’s turn to moan and he quickly fumbled for the button of his jeans. He stopped in an instant as Cougar winced again in trying to shoved his own pants down. Pressing a hard finger to the archers chest he pushed his back against the pillows. “You move, we stop,” he said, giving Cougar his not-to-be-fucked-with look.

Pupils blown wide, Cougar swallowed hard, nodded and forced himself to relax.

“Like that, do you?” Jake purred, leaning close to press several soft kisses against the brunette’s lips. “We’re going to have to try that someday.” 

Distracted by the blond’s hot breath and soft lips, Cougar let out a gasping groan as Jake suddenly took his rock hard prick in his calloused hand.

Jake chuckled, giving the archer a few slow strokes before re-positioning himself. Bracing one arm behind Cougar’s head and against the arm of the couch, the blond took a firm hold of his lovers long dark locks and gave an experimental tug. The whimper he earned from the action make him smile even more as he lowered his body to hover just over Cougar. Stealing one last kiss Jake loosened his grip on Cougar only to carefully slide his own cock up against the brunette’s and up into the circle of his fist.

It was almost too much for Cougar, the feeling of Jake against him creating delicious friction. His hips twitched as he fought to keep himself from moving and breaking the blond’s one rule. His whimpers and moans grew louder and the tension inside of him grew, so close to the tipping point.

Jake came first with a curse, his fingers tightening in Cougar’s hair and his hips thrusting in a ragged broken rhythm, sending the archer over as well. Trading slow kisses, they came down together.

Finally finding the energy to move, Jake straightened slightly and snatched up a towel with dried blood on only one corner to clean themselves. He carefully tugged Cougar’s boxers back up before freeing them both of their pants and flopping down. Tugging the blanket draped over the back of the couch down to cover them, Jake plastered himself to Cougar’s uninjured side with his head resting over the archer’s heart. “Did you kill him?” he murmured, using one finger to trace along the pattern of scars across his lover’s chest.

Cougar snorted and began gently running his fingers through his hacker’s hair. “Apparently taking an arrow to the eye wasn't quite enough to stop him.”

Jake let out a soft hum and shrugged. “We’ll get him.”

The room began to brighten as the soft light of sunrise hit the windows. With his true love in his arms, Cougar didn't think he could be any happier. Letting out a soft chuckled he pulled Jake closer still. “I still can't believe you told me to be Batman.”

Jake’s eyes bulged and he buried his blushing cheeks into Cougar’s chest letting out a mortified moan. “Oh my god.”

**Author's Note:**

> Chatting with the Void on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/KnockoutRambles)  
> 


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